Thursday, Azeri Defense Chief Visits Israeli Arms Companies . Emil Danielyan Azerbaijan - Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov. Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov has visited the headquarters of Israeli defense companies and met with their top executives during an official visit to Israel, one of Azerbaijan's main arms suppliers. The visit comes in the wake of Israeli authorities' decision to halt exports to Azerbaijan of "suicide" drones manufactured by an Israeli company accused of attacking an Armenian army position with them recently. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Thursday that Hasanov familiarized himself with weapons and ammunition manufactured by "leading enterprises" of the Israeli defense industry. It did not name those firms. In a statement cited by Azerbaijani news agencies, the ministry said Hasanov discussed with their chief executives "military-technical cooperation" between the two countries. It did not elaborate. Hasanov met with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman at the start of his visit on Monday. Official Azerbaijani sources said the two men discussed bilateral ties and "regional security." The Israeli Defense Ministry issued no statements on the talks. Lieberman, whose party is a junior partner in Israel's coalition government, is a staunch backer of close ties with Baku. He has repeatedly made pro-Azerbaijani statements on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. ISRAEL -- Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks during the International Institute for Counter Terrorism's 17th annual conference in Herzliya, September 11, 2017 An Israeli drone manufacturer, Aeronautics Defense Systems (ADS), said late last month that the Israeli Defense Ministry's export control agency has at least temporarily banned it from delivering a $20 million batch of Orbiter 1K unmanned aircraft to a key foreign client. In a statement, ADS did not specify the buyer of the sophisticated weapon carrying special explosive payload. But it did attribute the ban to an ongoing inquiry conducted by the Israeli agency. The Israeli newspaper "Maariv" reported on August 13 that the agency launched an investigation after receiving a formal complaint stemming from ADS's commercial dealings with the Azerbaijani government. It said ADS representatives traveled to Azerbaijan this summer to finalize a contract for the sale of Orbiter drones to the Azerbaijani military. The paper claimed that two Israeli drone operators working for the company rebuffed Azerbaijani officials' demand to demonstrate the use of the deadly drone by hitting the Armenian position. But other, more senior ADS executives agreed to launch the deadly craft on the target, according to "Maariv." ADS denied the report. According to Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian-backed Defense Army, the Azerbaijani military most recently attacked its frontline positions with a suicide drone on July 7. The commander of an army unit stationed in northeastern Karabakh said in early August that two of his soldiers were lightly wounded in the incident. Armenia's Deputy Defense Minister Davit Pakhchanian last week praised the reported ban on drone sales to Baku but said Israel must be "consistent" in preventing its citizens' direct involvement in Azerbaijani military operations. Pakhchanian claimed that Israeli arms dealers have repeatedly struck Armenian targets at the behest of Azerbaijani officials. The Azerbaijani army heavily used similar suicide drones manufactured by another Israeli company, Israel Aerospace Industries, during the April 2016 war in Karabakh. Baku had bought the Harop drones as well as air-defense and artillery systems and anti-tank rockets as part of multimillion-dollar defense contracts signed with Israeli firms. Armenia has long expressed concern at the Israeli-Azerbaijani arms deals, saying that they undermine international efforts to end the Karabakh conflict. Armenia - Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian (R) and Israel's Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi sign bilateral agreements after talks in Yerevan, 25Jul2017. The drone scandal was exposed by the Israeli paper more than two weeks after Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi visited Yerevan in an apparent bid to improve his country's frosty relationship with Armenia. Hanegbi met with Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and other senior Armenian officials. In what may be a related development, a group of Israeli parliamentarians arrived in the Armenian capital earlier this week. They include two deputy speakers of the Knesset. One of them, Tali Ploskov, chairs an Israel-Armenia parliamentary "friendship group." Her Kulanu party is also represented in the Israeli government. The Israeli delegation met with Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Wednesday. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said the two sides "exchanged views on a number of regional issues." It gave no details. Sarkisian Should Extend His Rule, Says Ally . Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia - Former parliament speaker Galust Sahakyan speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan, 14Sep2017. President Serzh Sarkisian should stay in power after serving out his second and final presidential term in April, a deputy chairman of his Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) said on Thursday. "He must continue to govern our country, there is no other person [qualified for that role,]" Galust Sahakian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "Even during the rule of [former Presidents] Levon Ter-Petrosian and Robert Kocharian there were people capable of being presidents," he said. "We don't have such people [except Sarkisian] now." Sahakian, who is a former speaker of the Armenian parliament, insisted that this is the dominant view within the HHK. But he was careful not to say that Sarkisian must necessarily extend his rule by becoming prime minister in April 2018, when Armenia becomes a parliamentary republic. "I'm not saying yet that his candidacy must be nominated for the post of prime minister," the veteran HHK figure went on. "What I'm saying is that Serzh Sarkisian must keep directing all kinds of actions of our country." Sahakian also claimed in that regard that the Armenian parliament will be more powerful than the prime minister under the parliamentary system of government. "I think that the National Assembly, not an individual, will be the strongest entity because the prime minister can be changed once in every six or even three months," he said. Sarkisian has still not clarified whether he plans to become prime minister or stay in government in another capacity. He stated in July that "it doesn't matter" who will be Armenia's prime minister after the end of his decade-long presidency. Sarkisian said in March that he would like to "play a role, in some capacity, in ensuring the security of our people" after April 2018. EU Envoy Cautious On `Political Prisoners' In Armenia . Artak Hambardzumian Armenia - Piotr Switalski, the head of the EU Delegation in Armenia, speaks at a news conference in Yerevan, 8May2017. The head of the European Union Delegation in Yerevan, Piotr Switalski, on Thursday declined to back claims by Armenian opposition and civil society groups that there are political prisoners in Armenia. Switalski said EU representatives regularly discuss with relevant Armenian officials the fate of individuals who have been imprisoned on what opposition and civic groups consider politically motivated charges. "I very much appreciate the fact that law-enforcement authorities always find time to discuss such sensitive topics whenever we express such a desire," he told reporters. "The European Union does not always necessarily share the views of non-governmental organizations. On such issues, we are mainly guided by decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights." "As you know, there are no people in Armenia who are qualified by [the Strasbourg court] as political prisoners," stressed the envoy. The individuals considered to be political prisoners by critics of the Armenian government are mostly members or supporters of radical opposition groups. Switalski was also careful not to endorse the opposition Yelk alliance's calls for Armenia to leave the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). "Armenia is a free country where everyone has the right to express their views," he said. "We are following debates [on the Yelk initiative] but it's totally up to Armenians." Accordingly, he would not be drawn on implications of Armenia's possible exit from the Russian-led bloc for its relations with the EU. "As long as [Armenia's] decisions are not hostile to the European Union I am happy with them," he said. "I see no unfriendly actions taken by Armenia with regard to the EU in the past. We have no serious disagreements with Armenia." The EU and Armenia plan to deepen their relations through a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement which is due to be signed in November. Opposition Bloc Wants Parliament Probe On Eurasian Union . Astghik Bedevian Armenia - Mane Tandilian, a parliament deputy from the Yelk bloc, speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan, 14Sep2017. The opposition Yelk alliance called on Thursday for a parliamentary inquiry into consequences of Armenia's membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Representatives of the pro-Western bloc proposed the creation of the ad hoc parliament commission after the pro-government majority in the National Assembly rejected its demands for the country's exit from the trade bloc. Yelk put forward last week a draft parliamentary statement saying that the Armenian authorities must embark on a "process" of invalidating their accession treaty with the EEU. The statement says that EEU membership, effective from January, 2015, has hurt the country's economy and security. Mane Tandilian, one of Yelk's nine deputies in the 105-member parliament, said the parliament commission would scrutinize costs and benefits of EEU membership and present them to the public. "Public support is very important on this issue," she told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "The public was apathetic when we jointed the EEU. The reason for that was that the public was not aware of what we missed out on." Tandilian referred to the Association Agreement with the European Union which Yerevan negotiated shortly before President Serzh Sarkisian opted in 2013 to join the Russian-led bloc instead. "I don't think that economic growth in Armenia would have been faster had we signed the Association Agreement," said Gagik Melikian, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). Still, Melikian said that the HHK's parliamentary faction will consider the idea of setting up the parliamentary commission. He expressed confidence that such an inquiry would only prove that Armenia needs to be part of the EEU. The HHK's junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), is also strongly opposed to Armenia's exit from the bloc comprising Russia and four other former Soviet republics. A Dashnaktsutyun leader, Armen Rustamian, claimed that the Yelk initiative could actually jeopardize the upcoming signing of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a less ambitious alternative to the Association Agreement. Rustamian made clear at the same time that his party supports a public debate on the issue. "And that debate will happen," he said. Press Review "Haykakan Zhamanak" says that while Prime Minister Karen Karapetian was right to say this week that Armenia needs a "developed, competitive and innovative economy" he is wrong to think that it can be built without breaking up economic monopolies in the country. The paper says that large-scale foreign investment will not flow into the Armenian economy unless it is completely liberalized by the government. "Hraparak" says that the ruling Republican Party (HHK) did not "appropriately" mark on Wednesday the first anniversary of Karapetian's appointment as prime minister, which coincided with his government's latest question-and-answer session in the parliament. "The session showed that Karapetian's positions have weakened so much that parliament speaker Ara Babloyan did not even try to forcibly bring in his `troops,'" writes the paper. It says that about half of the members of the HHK's parliament faction were not in attendance. "Zhoghovurd" claims that Karapetian and his aides say things have improved significantly over the past year. The paper points to Karapetian's Wednesday remark that Armenia has achieved this year the best macroeconomic indicators in the region. "The failed authorities would do anything for [political] shows," it says. "Aravot" says that Russian President Vladimir Putin's "propaganda machine" is trying to justify the Soviet "totalitarian system" and deny mass repressions committed during the Communist era. "But this is the Russian citizens' problem," editorializes the paper. "If they are prepared to be brainwashed in this way let them take those baits. What are we to do with that? We think that the Kremlin will be offended by a Yerevan exhibition held in memory of victims of the Bolshevik repressions." The paper wonders if the open-air exhibition was stopped by the Armenian government for fear of Moscow's negative reaction. (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Author: Lara Chatinian
BAKU: Defense Ministry on Armenian lies: ‘We do not comment on such primitive disinformation’
News.az, Azerbaijan
Sept 2 2017
Sat 06:06 GMT | 9:06 Local Time
"With such disinformation Armenia's confusion agents can only deceive their Armenian public."
Armenian special services confusion agents have recently been engaged in spreading numerous fictional 'stories' or 'documents' with various content about Azerbaijani army through media outlets. In this respect, in response to News.Az's appeal, the Defense Ministry reported that they are informed about the next disinformation disseminated by Armenian media.
"We do not want to comment on such a primitive disinformation, a smeary lie that has nothing to do with the reality. With such disinformation Armenia's confusion agents can only deceive their Armenian public," the ministry says.
News.Az
Sports: Another Armenian wrestler declared World Champion
Panorama, Armenia
Aug 23 2017
The representative of Armenia Maksim Manukyan became world champion in the 80kg category at the 2017 World Championships in Paris, France.
As the National Olympic Committee reported, in the final bout the Armenian athlete defeated Radik Kuliyev of Belarus, winning his first ever title of his career.
In the 66kg weight category another representative of Armenia Karen Aslanyan lost the fight for the bronze medal, conceding to Russia’s Artyom Surkov.
To recap, the Armenian team conquered two gold medals at the World Championships with Artur Aleksanyan and Maksim Manukyan becoming champions respectively in the 98kg and 80kg weight categories.
Sports: Armenia’s Maksim Manukyan Becomes World Wrestling Champ
Asbarez Armenian News
Aug 22 2017
Maksim Manukyan
PARIS—A day after Olympic gold medalist Artur Aleksanyan became the world wrestling champ in the 98kg category, his fellow team member Maksim Manukyan clenched the same title on Tuesday in the 80kg category during World Wrestling Championships in the French capital.
Manukyan competed against Belarus’s Radik Koulin and beat him with a score of 5:2.
Manukyan was born in 1987 and competed in the Rio Olympics last year.
BAKU: Armenia’s drift towards NATO and panic among Moscow Armenians
News.az, Azerbaijan
Aug 21 2017
Mon 11:13 GMT | 7:13 Local Time
The attitude towards Armenia's obvious drift towards NATO in the Armenian society and among the Armenian elite is different.
Pro-Western Armenians do not hide their enthusiasm with this fact and are waiting for the moment when Armenia finally "throws away" Russia and runs under the wing of a new "ally" – the US, in order to start a new stage of aggression against its neighbors. However, such prodigies are not shared by the pro-Armenian forces that settled in Moscow.
Obviously, if Armenia betrays Russia and finally surrenders to the US and NATO, the fate of the powerful Armenian lobby in Russia will be unenviable and their positions will shaken. Including the positions of "near-Armenian" figures, such as the editor-in-chief of Regnum news agency Modest Kolerov.
After all, Kolerov and others like him managed to create the image of "the great patriots of Russia" among the Russian public, and the illusion that Armenia is the 'surest ally of Russia'. But if Armenia betrays Russia, Kolerov won't be able to play the same game anymore.
It will also become clear that for many years Modest Kolerov, as well as all kinds of Baghdasaryans, Margaritas Simonyans and others like them, fooled the Russian society, made them support the regime, which eventually ended up betraying Russia and becoming the enemy of their country. In this case the representatives of Moscow Armenian lobby will also be suspected of betrayal, and, as a result, "the money flows" of Russian Armenians will be excommunicated. And their lives become more complicated – since no matter how naive the Russians are, they will hardly finance Armenian structures after Armenia joins the ranks of Russia's enemies.
Therefore, it was not accidental that the material of Sargis Artsruni entitled "Moscow incites Azerbaijan to a new war" recently published on the website of Armenia's pro-Western First Information expresses an extremely negative reaction on the attitude of the same Modest Kolerov to the rapprochement between Armenia and NATO which goes contrary to the aspirations of the pro-Western "First Information" .
Sargis Artsruni writes: "In Moscow they can not accept the fact that Armenia took part in NATO military exercises held in Georgia. Even if this participation of Yerevan was agreed with Moscow, the situation changed drastically after the new US sanctions against Russia and against the backdrop of US Vice President Mike Pence's visit to Georgia. Several Russian publications openly question the loyalty of the Armenian authorities.
In an interview with the First Information, the editor-in-chief of the Regnum news agency, political analyst Modest Kolerov, who is known for his connections with the Kremlin, spoke rather harshly. "Armenia itself said that it has solidarity with NATO. And this solidarity takes place with the joint participation with Turkey and Azerbaijan. That's all. And if Armenia participates in such projects jointly with Turkey and Azerbaijan, it does not mean that it does not need a united military group with Russia. So, let Armenia call on NATO to reconcile it with Turkey and Azerbaijan, " Kolerov said.
In this case, Sargis Artsruni accuses Modest Kolerov of lies and fraudulent facts. In particular, he writes:
"Russian officials and experts have tactics to bring their message or even threat to the appropriate audience at all means – even resorting to obvious falsifications. For example, Kolerov obviously deceives readers, giving the impression that Azerbaijan participated in military exercises in Georgia. Or the political scientist creates a completely false picture that Moscow is allegedly occupied with the Armenian-Azerbaijani or Armenian-Turkish reconciliation processes, and this is when Moscow arms the parties to the Karabakh conflict, and the Russian military base deployed in Armenia is one of the obstacles to the probable Armenian-Turkish rapprochement. However, all these manipulations are trifles in comparison with tthe threat clearly voiced by Kolerov. "So, let Armenia call on NATO to reconcile it with Turkey and Azerbaijan," Kolerov said, diplomatically making it clear that Armenia will pay a high price for participation in NATO exercises.
The conclusion of the First Information is purely speculative. Sargis Artsruni believes that Moscow has found a "legitimate" basis for issuing carte blanche to Azerbaijan for a new war – it is supposedly the Armenian authorities' review of their foreign policy. In his opinion, Moscow makes it clear that if Armenia continues to cooperate with NATO, or even signs a new agreement with NATO, they will provoke Azerbaijan to a new war against Armenia – laying the blame on our "pro-Western" authorities.
But the fact is that the sale of arms to Azerbaijan and Russian-Azerbaijani defense cooperation which is absolutely legitimate and mutually beneficial and consistent with Russia's interests is just being presented by the supporters of betrayal of Russia by Armenia as a "proof" of the fact that 'Russia is not Armenia's friend'. And these theses are repeated again and again.
Thus, a split has emerged in the formerly monolithic international Armenian lobby. Russian Armenians began to realize that the betrayal of Russia by Armenia could touch them personally. And they frantically try to "slow down" the process in the present stage, when Armenia seems to continue to remain Russia's ally, while flirting with the West.
But such an"intermediate" state can not be preserved forever. Either here or there. And, judging by the latest trends, it is rather "there". Armenia's insidiousness as an ally and treacherous essence of the Yerevan regime will soon become apparent even to the most naive Russian patriots.
News.Az
The Voice Kids : Revivez la reprise magique de Withney Houston par Monica (VIDEO)
TF1, France
9 août 2017
Par Alexis Hache
Elle a ému les trois coachs en reprenant « I Have Nothing » de Withney Houston pour son pays d’origine, l’Arménie.
Savoir honorer et rendre hommage à ses racines, c’est important. Pour Monica, c’est du côté de l’Arménie qu’il faut regarder. La jeune fille de 13 ans chante depuis ses trois ans et chante surtout tout le temps ! Véritable autodidacte, elle est fan de Charles Aznavour, Arménien comme elle. « Je veux que mon pays soit fier de moi », confie-t-elle.
Fan des chanteuses à voix comme Céline Dion ou Lara Fabian, c’est vers le répertoire de Withney Houston que Monica s’est tournée pour tenter de convaincre les coachs. Sous les yeux de sa famille, elle remplit le contrat à la perfection. Plus la chanson avance, plus les coachs sont sous le charme. Grâce à une interprétation puissante et juste, Monica récolte facilement trois buzz et n’a plus qu’à choisir.
Pour prendre sa décision, alors que les trois coachs la veulent absolument dans leur équipe, Monica va suivre son cœur et choisir Patrick Fiori, premier des trois coachs à s’être retourné. « J’ai rarement entendu des voix comme la tienne », avoue-t-il d’ailleurs. Un choix approuvé par sa famille que la jeune fille confesse porter toujours « dans son cœur ». Du coup, les comptes sont à nouveau équilibrés. Chaque coach a désormais deux talents dans son équipe.
voir la vidéo
Inflation expected to continue growing in Armenia in 2nd H 2017 – Eurasian Development Bank
ArmBanks, Armenia
Aug 11 2017
Inflation expected to continue growing in Armenia in 2nd H 2017 – Eurasian Development Bank
11.08.2017 16:31
11.08.2017 16:31
YEREVAN, August 11. /ARKA/. Inflation rate is expected to continue rising in Armenia in the second half of 2017 in absence of inside and outside shocks, economists at the Eurasian Development Bank say in their quarterly macroeconomic report.
They say that the deflation influence of domestic demand will gradually be weakening as economic activity will be recovering, and this will allow inflation to come close to the lower board line of the projected brackets in 2017 and will remain on the projected level in the medium term.
The authors of the report say that the impact of the conservative fiscal policy that curbs price rise will remain in 2017, but in the medium term, likely positive impact of fiscal consolidation on confidence in the policy and inflow of investments into Armenia’s economy will lead to neutralization of the deflation effect.
Armenia has ended the year 2016 with 1.4% inflation. Deflation in the country has been recorded throughout seven months of 2016, and only in September process rose 0.1%.
According to statistical reports, inflation in Armenia was recorded at 0.5% in Jan-June 2017, compared with the same period a year before.
In June 2017, compared with June 2016, it stood at 1.1%.
In the government budget for 2017, inflation is projected at 4% (±1.5%) and GDP growth at 3.2%. M.V.-0—-
Food: Creating a New Armenia in the Kitchen
Link TV
Aug 2 2017
When I eat my mother’s or my grandmother’s dolmades, I slip into a fugue-like state. Like nostalgia and homesickness, I long to smell the stewing onion and grape leaves. I recall Proust and his description of “those squat, plump little cakes called ‘petites madeleines,’” because the sensation is so singular that I cannot liken it to much else. “But when from a long-distant path,” writes Proust in "In Search of Lost Time," “nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, taste and smell alone, more fragile but more enduring, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, remain poised a long time, like souls, remembering, waiting, hoping, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unflinchingly, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.”
Like Proust, I too can “hear the echo of great spaces traversed.” I can hear my nene’s shuffling feet on linoleum and enter into a vortex of remembrance (for my childhood) and imagination (for the past that belongs to my ancestry). And by virtue of my nene, it is a past that I have inherited. The one in which 1.5 million Christian Armenians were systematically exterminated during the twilight of the Ottoman Empire by government decree. Our people wanted reform and freedom — basic civil liberties. Instead, they were given two menacing architects (Minister of War Enver Pasha and Minister of Interior Talaat Pasha) of a policy in which Armenians were to be deported from a land that they had spent centuries cultivating. Under the Tehcir Law, the Ottoman Government and the military were effectively given permission to wantonly slaughter. The Armenian Question, for so long debated amongst diplomatic circles, was to be eliminated.
When I close my eyes I see them all standing before me with their brown hair and their big brown eyes. I see my great-great aunts running away from me and throwing themselves into the Euphrates river. My great-great grandfathers bloodied and lifeless in the once bustling streets rife with Armenian intelligentsia, children and clergymen. My great-grandfather, muddied and hungry, hiding in horse stables. My great-great uncle riding valiantly through that forever night with the taste of revenge on his tongue.
Food, like art, conjures up narratives. In some cases, it even serves as a path to salvation. I have always regarded a country’s relationship with food to be reflective of their culture. I, of course, am not the only one. Professions are dedicated to this very act and I now find that my yearning for dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and basturma (cured dried meat) and lahmajoun (Armenian pizza topped with minced meat) stems from a place that is as primordial as it is psychological. Though I am certainly biased in believing that my family is responsible for some of the finest cuisine that food can yield, I am one of many Armenians who believe that food and the performance of putting together such meals is almost a form of benign protest. Especially for those of us who cannot speak the language. It is as significant as the connective tissue that holds organs in place and weds muscle to bone. It is our way of showing that we have not been defeated.
Though nearly three quarters of the Armenian Christian population were savagely taken from us during the massacres that began in 1915, we are still here to perpetuate what some refer to as “the mythical story of genocide.” The one that ambassadors and missionaries and survivors attested to. The one that has become the defining trait and cause of my people, still one-hundred years on and probably forevermore. One cannot simply forget. The myth is, in fact, reality.
I spent the first twenty-two years of my life in Los Angeles, which harbors the second largest Armenian diaspora community in the world, contending with this reality. For many years, my mother coerced me into standing beside her while she made the meals my nene taught her to make, but I was not happy about it. In my puerile mind, I wanted to rebel against the domestication of women. I was saying, in so many words, that intellect trumps housework. I would not be subjugated. I would not be relegated to the kitchen like my mother and so many other women were. I was profoundly ill-informed. And while I spent countless afternoons accompanying her to Karabagh Meat Market, Sarkis Pastry, and various cousins’ homes in Glendale and Little Armenia, I did so begrudgingly.
I, of course, regard it wistfully now. While Mom and Nene would banter in Armenian with the staff at Karabagh, I would wander, tan in hand, the tang of salt and yogurt in my mouth, and survey the sundry products with labels I was unable to understand. It is difficult to describe now, as I am no longer that child and cannot possibly delineate what kind of world she perceived, the strange, hidden places she would visit in her mind, but I can portray it in broad strokes. It possessed that illusory quality of a world within a world. A trapdoor to another life leaving me both intrigued and uncomfortable.
Upon returning home, Mom and Nene would place the contents of our bounty on the counter: the basturma, the babaganoush, the Armenian string cheese, the boereg (a phyllo dough pastry stuffed with cheese) and all of the ingredients for the dolmades sitting like a still life of our little, against all odds family. I would watch them orchestrate this culinary feat in which chickpeas, basmati rice, tomato paste, dill, parsley, onion, salt and paprika would all coalesce in glossy grape leaves covered in brined solution. Fold, tuck, roll. Fold, tuck, roll. I would watch them, settled into the ease of the ritual, and if I was summoned, I would follow suit. We would then take the unfilled grape leaves and plaster them to the bottom of the pot with olive oil, stack the stuffed wonders into one giant heap on top of them, and submerge it all in water. By the time Dad came home from work, the house smelled of another ancient land. And he would smile a robust smile because that scent was home, vaporized and very much a part of him. All of us.
If done correctly, the dolmades will not fall apart in your hands. They will remain firm, but when they make contact with your mouth, they will have no choice but to surrender. You will be able to easily tear through the grape leaf with your teeth and when you do, the aromatic dill will command your senses. The succulent rice and chickpeas will pleasingly coat your soft palate, the olive oil and brine binding it all together in a confluence of true harmony. Though there are no standout ingredients in this dish, once mixed together and swaddled, the flavor they emit is not only special, but in my opinion, incomparable. Maybe, this is just the “vast structure of recollection” talking.
Now, I crave to cook this food. Unpack it all. Pick it apart morsel by morsel. Reverse engineer until I understand it by its component parts. Like the pieces of our history. Our diaspora.
In attempting to understand my newfound interest in food as vessel, I think of Swiss-born British author Alain de Botton who, in a Guardian article, was quoted saying that what bothers him is that “there is so much emphasis on food, rather than gathering and meeting.” There is also reference to “an almost universal lack of venues that help us to transform strangers into friends,” and it is that venue, however makeshift it may be, the kitchen being the most pronounced of its kind, that I find and inhabit whenever I am in the presence of other Armenians.
A cab, a gas station, a bakery, a bar: these are the spaces of the “New Armenia” that Pulitzer-prize winning writer William Saroyan addresses when he writes about the resilience of the Armenian people. “Go ahead, destroy Armenia,” he writes, “See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia."
Nene's Dolmades
INGREDIENTS
1 cup basmati rice
2 small onions (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 jar of grape leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice from one half of a lemon
Half bunch of parsley (finely chopped)
Half bunch of dill (finely chopped)
Half of a can of chickpeas (optional)
Olive oil
1 jalapeño pepper (finely chopped) or dusting of cayenne
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Finely chop the two small onions and sauté with olive oil until translucent over medium heat. At this time, you can also add the finely chopped jalapeño.
2. Add the washed basmati rice and thoroughly mix the grain with the onion, adding a half cup of water.
3. Once the water has evaporated, or after approximately 10 minutes, take the mix off the heat and transfer it all to a large bowl.
4. Add the tomato paste, lemon, salt, pepper, parsley, dill, and chickpeas.
5. Mix thoroughly.
6. Use a large cutting board or flat surface of your choice to lay the grape leaves on for stuffing.
7. Place one teaspoon of the mix into the center of the grape leaf and fold the edges of the leaf over the mix. Roll each into a cigar-like shape.
8. Place a few grape leaves on the bottom of a pan and stack your stuffed grape leaves on top. Add water in order to cover it all, but do not submerge them completely. If you want an added richness, you can add olive oil and beef stock to the water. Then place a sturdy dinner plate directly on top of the heap before placing the pot’s lid on top of it all.
9. Twenty minutes in, check on your stuffed wonders. If the rice is thoroughly cooked, they’re ready to be served.
Top Image: Dolmades | Junkii | Flickr | CC 2.0
Israeli Minister in Armenia: Damage Control or Something More?
EurasiaNet.org
Aug 1 2017
The YerevaNN algorithm of artificial intelligence
MediaMax, Armenia
Marie Taryan